The town of Pulteney was a fishing port in Wick. Established as a model village between 1800-1820, it was named after Sir William Pulteney, Grand Commissioner of the British Fisheries Society. Pulteney was designed by the distinguished civil engineer Thomas Telford, who also designed the famous Spey Bridge at Craigellachie. By the mid-19th century, it had become Europe's largest herring port (and by weight, the world's largest), with over 1,000 ships using it as a base during the fishing season, attracting 7,000 workers. In 1826, James Henderson built a distillery in the town, and his family retained control of the distillery until 1920, when it was sold to James Watson & Company of Dundee. Three years later it passed to DCL, which closed it in 1930. In 1951, the distillery was sold to lawyer Robert Cumming (who also purchased Balblair), but he quickly resold it to J. & G. Stodart, a subsidiary of Hiram Walker, who rebuilt the distillery in 1958. In 1961, Pulteney was transferred to Allied Distillers, who in turn sold it to Inver House in 1995.

Sir William Pulteney, originally William Johnstone, was born in Dumfriesshire. After marrying into the Pulteney family and inheriting his wife's uncle's estate, he became one of England's wealthiest men. In his youth in Dumfriesshire, he met the young, impoverished stonemason Thomas Telford, and after Pulteney's fortune grew, he became Telford's chief patron—under his support, Telford rose to become the era's premier civil engineer. Thomas Telford is often called the 'Father of Civil Engineering.' In 1801, Telford created a 20-year master plan to improve Highland transportation, including building the Caledonian Canal through the Great Glen, redesigning parts of the Crinan Canal, nearly 1,000 miles of new roads, over 1,000 bridges, 32 churches, and numerous harbor upgrades. One story claims Pulteney's distinctive flat-top still was cut down after being too tall for the still house. (See also Cragganmore) Influenced by 1920s American evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, Wick's prohibition lasted until 1947. To mark the 50th anniversary of repeal, the distillery released Old Pulteney 12 Year Old; in 2007, for the 60th anniversary, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution held a charity ball. Old Pulteney was once dubbed 'Northern Manzanilla'—pale and salty. Today, it's positioned as 'The Genuine Maritime Malt Whisky,' with bottles and packaging featuring fishing boats. In 2006, it became main sponsor of the I.R.C. Scottish Sailing Championship. The brand also sponsored Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who completed his second solo circumnavigation in 2007. Pulteney is one of only two distilleries named after a person (the other is Glen Grant, though Port Ellen is also cited).